A staffer says he felt “dirty” and questioned himself after allegedly being sexually assaulted by an MP after an event at Parliament House.
State MP Gareth Ward is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges.
Jurors on Wednesday heard the long-time MP approached a young, drunk political staffer after a mid-week event at the NSW Parliament House in 2015 and offered him a place to stay for the night.
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The staffer told jurors he accepted the invite as he lived far away and felt nauseous after drinking three glasses of wine.
On the way to the MP’s Potts Point apartment, the man recalled feeling “a little bit uncomfortable because he was being a little too gracious with his kind words about me”.
After rejecting then allowing a kiss from Ward, he was led to what the then-24-year-old thought was a spare bedroom he would have to himself.
But after undressing, he was soon joined by Ward, who asked his permission to share the bed.
The man said he didn’t think anything of sharing the bed but he tried to prevent Ward from putting his arm around him or sexually assaulting him.
The complainant, now aged in his 30s, became emotional as he recounted moving away from Ward and telling him “no” when the politician “groped” his backside and sexually assaulted him.
“At no stage did I [say] yes or gave him any indication that I was pleased with what was going on,” the alleged victim told the jury.
The alleged assault was uncomfortable and caused him to feel “a jolt of pain” which elicited noises of discomfort, he said.
He felt Ward moving next to him and heard him grunting and making a “relieved kind of groan” before he left the room, the court was told.
The young man later noticed a sticky substance on the bed and his rear.
“I felt down but also a little dirty and confused,” the complainant said.
“I recalled saying no and I was thinking: ‘had I not verbalised no as loudly as I should have?'”
He also detailed telling Ward “no” and putting a hand between him and Ward when the MP tried to kiss him shortly after arriving at the unit.
Two minutes after the rejection, he claimed Ward tried again and the complainant “just went along with it” because he “thought he just wanted a kiss and it would end there”.
The morning after the alleged sexual assault, the pair walked to NSW Parliament House together.
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Ward continued to praise the young man’s “bright future”, the alleged victim said.
“At one stage he said if I stick by him, he’ll take care of me,” he said.
Ward is also accused of indecently assaulting an 18-year-old in 2013 after meeting the man at a networking event on NSW South Coast a year earlier.
The man claims Ward fondled his buttocks and scrotum, and gave him an unwanted back massage.
The MP, who was charged over the alleged assaults in 2022, contests the allegations and his lawyers are expected to address jurors later in the trial.
Ward has held the Kiama electorate since 2011, winning three elections as a Liberal before securing the 2023 poll as an independent.
The trial continues before Judge Kara Shead.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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